Y-3

Yohji Yamamoto doesn't usually attend the Y-3 show. But this season, as his collaboration with Adidas celebrated its tenth anniversary, he saw fit to make an appearance. Backstage after the show, Yamamoto said, pithily, that he wanted to mark the occasion by creating a collection that was "elegant." And to be sure, plenty of looks on the Y-3 runway today straightforwardly drove that point home: There was suave soft suiting for both men and women, and little white ensembles that summoned the refinement of the cricket ground.

But in general, this collection seemed to be meditating on the elegance potential of activewear, broadly, and the aesthetic possibilities of the iconic Adidas three-stripe logo in particular. In other words, it was a collection that celebrated the nature of the Yamamoto/Adidas collaboration itself. All manner of sporting gear was encompassed here—anoraks, tracksuits, sweats, soccer shorts, leggings. The digitally printed mesh parkas and anoraks were especially striking, but there were lots of strong looks in that mix. The most interesting pieces this season were the ones riffing on the Adidas stripe. Yamamoto elaborated the signature, placing three white stripes on the bicep of a softly draped beige suit, making a graphic pattern of black and white stripes on T-shirts and tanks, and, in one inspired look, re-creating the Adidas insignia by trimming the three-tiered ruffles on an asymmetric black dress in white. Brands like Adidas don't typically like it when people play fast and loose with their logos this way, but after ten years at Y-3, Yamamoto has earned the right.